The theft of small articles in retail establishments is a prevalent problem which costs merchandisers millions of dollars every year in losses. Additionally, controlling this type of theft can be very difficult since a thief can remove the small articles from an establishment without paying for them by simply wear or concealing the items prior to exiting the establishment.
Various devices have been utilized by retailers in order to prevent theft of their goods. For example, a widespread practice in the industry of article security is the use of anti-theft tags which incorporate electronic article surveillance (EAS) sensors. Such EAS sensors are typically secured to an article and are either removed by a store's employee or are rendered inactive by an employee at checkout. If the EAS sensors are not rendered inactive or removed prior to the customer exiting the store, the EAS sensors are typically sensed in the store by an associated EAS system that, in turn, causes an alarm to signal.